Rotating nozzle for rockets



A. AFRICANO ROTATING NOZZLE FOR ROCKETS sgpf. 23, 1952 Filed March 8, 1946 Try Alfred AFI-imam] -order to stabilize flight.

Patented Sept. 23,f 1952 ROTATING NOZZLE FOR ROCKETS Alfred Africano, Weehawken, N. J., assigner to the United Statesl of America as represented by the Secretary of War Applica-tien March s, 194e, serial No. 652,868

s claims. (C1. a-5o) The invention relates to improvement in rocket projectiles and more particularly to an improved rocketV projectile having a rotating nozzle for aligning the thrustand to stabilize the launching and flight thereof.

Efforts have been made to bring about rotation of rocket projectiles during launching in Since such projectiles are relatively heavy, the energy required to-produce the necessary rotation may be excessive,

and where the entire projectile is rotated in Alaunching it has a tendencyA to drift away from :the axis of the launching tube.. High .speed tur- `bine rotors have been mounted` in the tail assem- .bly of projectiles to providea gyroscopic effect Aand thus stabilizethe fiight,1but such rotors are diil'icult to manufacture and mount forrotation,

vand add to the weight of the projectile. Further,

rotation of the entire projectile and motor tends lto interfere with the satisfactory trapping and burning of the propellent charge Within the -rocket motor. l

All of these diiiiculties may be avoided by the use of a rotational nozzle connected to the rocket projectile in such manner that only the nozzle will be rotated at high speed and any rotation of the projectile itself would be quite slow.

An important object of my invention is to provide a rotating nozzle for rocket projectiles which will align the eiective thrust of the projectile, and which will tend to counteract the tendency of the projectile to drift away from the axis of the launching tube. Y

Another object of my invention is to lprovide a rocket projectile in which only the nozzle'would partly in section, embodying the invention and shown within a section of a launching tube,

Figure 2 is a stern end view of rotating nozzle of the type herein described, including a transverse section of a launching tube, taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1,

2 A Figure 3 is a fragmentary section of a modification of the method of connecting the-nozzle to the projectile, and Figure 4 is asimilar view of another modification of the same.

In the drawings, particularly Figure l in which is shown a preferred embodiment of myinvention, the numeral 5 designates a portion of 'a rocket launching tube and the numeral 6 designates the rear portion of the body of a rocket .projectile having a chamber or cavity 1 in which a motor (not shown) is housed, a throat portion 8 and a discharge opening 9 through which the combustion gases from the motor pass out of the projectile. Screw threads I0 are provided in the body of the projectile 6 and around the opening 9 to permit screw-threaded attachment of a ring I I, said ring being arranged with an annular flange or projection I2 providing raceway for the ball bearings I3.

The numeral I4 designates a Yfunnelshaped tubular expanding coner which with the throat portion 8 andthe discharge opening 9, constitute the nozzle oi the rocket projectile, the expanding cone alone, however, being hereinafter generally referred to in this specification and in the appended claims as the nozzle The nozzle --I4 is provided with an annular iiange l5 formed integral with its body at the smaller diametered end to receive the flange I2 and form additional bearing for the ball bearingl I3, and it is arranged for screw threaded engagement with a flange ring I6, thus providing means for attaching the nozzle I4 to the projectile 6. It also supplies another annular bearing surface for the ball bearings I3,

The inner surface of the nozzle I4,.Which is coaxial with the throat portion 8 of the projectile 6 and tapers uniformly to the end of greatest diameter, is provided with a plurality of upstanding vanes or ridges I'I disposed at an angle to the axis of the nozzle I4. A detachable ring I8 arranged about the periphery of the nozzle I4 at its largest diametered end is provided with a number of lugs I8 about its exterior circumference to provide pivoted engagement for a plurality of folding ilns 26 which provide iiight stability, the said fins being so shaped that when folded against the sloping exterior sides of the nozzle I4 they will iit within the launching tube E.

In the modied method of connecting the projectile 6 to the nozzle I4, as shown in Figure 3, a ring 2| arranged for screw-threaded engagement with the screw threads I0 in the projectile 6 is provided with an annular flange 22, forming raceways for double rows of ball bearings 2l.

nozzle.

The flange 24 on the nozzle I4 is arranged for screw-threaded connection with a collar 25. In the modification shown in Figure 4, the projectile 8 is formed with an annular flange 26 providing a raceway 21 for the ball bearings 28. An annular ring 29 is welded at 36 to the nozzle I4, the said ring 29 being spun or upset as at 3| to retain the ball bearings 28. In all other respects the nozzle I4 will be arranged as heretofore described.

In operation, the combustion gases from the tates, the thrust of the combustionk gases passing rearward provides an .aligned thrust for launching the projectile. The revolving nozzle .tends to homogenize the jet of the gases and avoid non-axial thrusts eausedby a misaligned As the .projectile leaves the launching tube I0 the rotation of the nozzle causes the fins 2|)v to Swing radially outward on theirzpivots thus providing stabilizers for the rocket in iiightasis wellknown in the art. The forward thrust of the rocket is taken up by the bearings and the projectile continues in night without rotating,

kavoiding the tendencyof the projectile to drift `army from the. desired line of flight.

A further advantage of the rotating nozzle lies in the factthat its functioning may be checked instatictests wherein the nozzle may attain the same speed of rotation during the test as, it would attain in flight.

The arrangement of the ns 20 on the detachable ring I8 permits their removal from the projectile whenever theV use of suchV fins is not desirable.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention, herewith shown, and described, is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from thespirit of my invention, or the yof said discharge nozzle being formed integral with the said motor chamber vand its rearward `4 portion being a tubular expanding cone formed separate from the said motor chamber, a ring member on said forward portion of said discharge nozzle cooperating with a second ring member on said ytubular expanding cone to form a raceway for antifriction bearings and a plurality of upstanding vanes fixed along one edge to the inner Vsurface of said cone and disposed a-t an angle to the axis thereof',v said vanes being responsive to the outward flow of propellent gases from the motor chamber whereby the said rearward portion isy revolved in flight.

2. A rocket projectile having a motor chamber and provided with a throat leading to an opening at its stern end, a rotatable conical nozzle axially aligned with the said opening and having a pluralityof upstanding vanes fixed at an angle to its inner surface, said vanes being positioned so that -they intercept the outward fiow of gases from the motor chamber, a threaded and flanged rim.r member cooperating kwith .the adjacent` ends of the said motor chamber and the said nozzle to form a raceway for anti-frictionbearings, and a plurality of stabilizing fins foldable. against the exterior sides of the nozzlewhen the rocket is in launching position.

3,. A rocket projectile having a motor chamber provided withy an integra-l throat, a separate rearwardly directed axially aligned rotatable flared nozzle, the axis of rotation of said nozzle being coincident with the axis of said chamber. an annulus on the? outward end of said throat, a flanged retainer ring member on said nozzle of greater diameter than said annulus and cooperating therewith to form a raceway for anti-friction bearings, a plurality of upstanding vanes secured along one edge to the inner surface of said nozzle and disposed at an angle to the axis thereof, a lug carrying ringembracing the periphery of said nozzle at its largest diameter and a plurality of foldable fins in pinned relation with said lugs and nesting against the exterior sides of the said nozzle when the rocket isin launching. position.

, ALFRED AFRICANO.

rREFERENCES CITED The following references are of reeordfin the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 976,732 Gherassimoff Nov. 22, i910 2,283,863 Achterman May 19, 1942 2,395,114 Goddard Feb. 19, 1946 2,412,173 Pope Dec. 3, 1946 2,465,401 Skinner Mar. 29, 1949 2,494,026 Anderson Jan. 10, 1950 

